Trash bags, bins and accessories

ABSTRACT

A suitcase with an improved shoe compartment is disclosed. An outer shell to enclose contents being carried in the suitcase. A plurality of wheels movingly connected to the outer shell. A handlebar railing attached to the outer shell on one end and having a handlebar on the other end, for a user to control movement of the suitcase using the plurality of wheels. A shoe compartment includes four or more individual compartments for four or more pairs of shoes, accordingly. The second compartment slides up the handlebar railing, when the suitcase is stationary, to a supported position at a higher elevation than when the suitcase is mobile.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/080,357, filed on Nov. 16, 2014, by Ardavan Yazdi, the content ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to trash containers, and morespecifically, to improved trash bags, bins and accessories.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional trash bags are designed to be supported by a trash bin. Tothis end, a single bag is removed from a stack or torn from a roll andthen taken to the trash bin for installation. Conventional trash bagsare also designed for a single monolithic use with a single cavity. Theassumption has been that multiple individual trash bags should be usedfor multiple requirements. Unfortunately, the conventional approachescan be more expensive and require more effort from installing trashbags.

Another conventional assumption is that trash bags are stored separatelyfrom trash bins. A trash bin is typically stored in a position for easyaccess while trash bags are purchased separately and are stored out ofthe way because they are accessed with significantly less frequency thatthe trash bins. As a result, each time a trash bag currently inside of atrash bin fills up, a new bag is retrieved from where ever the trashbags are stored.

It is desirable to overcome these shortcomings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following drawings, like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. The Figures depict various embodiments for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following discussion that other embodiments of the structures andmethods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from thedescribed principles.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating trash bags nested to form atrash bin, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating trash bags nested forautomatic pull-up in a trash bin, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a trash bag accessory forhanging to a trash bin, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a trash bag dispenser forattachment to trash bins, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a trash bag dispenserintegrated within a bottom of a trash bin, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a trash bag with separatebins, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic diagram illustrating trash bag dispensersfrom an interior vertical orientation on a wall of a can, according toone embodiment. The can has railings to which a book of bags isconnected. An individual plastic bag can be pulled out from the book ofbags and hooked under a lip of the can. The bag breaks apart when liftedout of the can for dispensing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Various Embodiments of the Improved Trash Bags,Bins and Accessories

The following section of the description describes details of improvedtrash bags, bins, and accessories. One of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize variations of the examples given within, that are within thescope of the disclosure. Advantageously, trash handling is easier forusers to change and use.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating trash bags nested to form atrash bin 110, according to an embodiment. Multiple trash bags can bemanufactured to be consecutively embedded within each other in aself-supporting manner. Each bag is open and expanded without beingfolded or compressed, in some embodiments. The combination of multiplebags, although individually thin, provides enough support to keep thetrash bin in the open and expanded position. In some embodiments, innerbags can be progressively smaller for each bag, every five bags, or anyappropriate increment, for easier nesting. At the top, bag shapes can becircular, oval, square or rectangular. At the bottom, bag shapes can bethe same shape and size as the top, the same shape and a smaller size,or a different shape.

During manufacture, individual trash bags can be connected byimplementation-specific processes. In one example, a small line orseveral dots of glue is set between each bag. In another example, aflash heat cure melts a small part of each bag which sets to adhere toeach successive bag. In still another example, adjacent bags are formedfrom a single roll and perforations assist a tear that permits bags tobe separated. In one case, adjacent bags are connected at a top edge. Ina second case, adjacent bags are connected at a bottom, or both top andbottom.

A supporting structure can be provided to prevent the nested bins fromtipping over. More support may be provided when only a few bags remaindue to deterioration of self-support. The supporting structure can bedisposable and made of an inexpensive material such as cardboard.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating trash bags 220 nested forautomatic pull-up in a trash bin, according to an embodiment. Each trashbag has an accordion shape that compresses to a flat form factor forstorage and distribution. As shown in close up 210, a bottom portion ofone trash bag interlocks with a top portion of an adjacent trash bag,through the accordion shape of each.

In use, a trash bag is fully opened by expending the accordion shape andattaching handles at the top of the trash bag to sides of a trash bin.After use, the handles are lifted to pull out the old trash bag and, inturn, pull up a new trash bag. Due to the interlocking of the twoadjacent trash bags, the new bag is expanded during the same effort ofremoving the old bag.

In other embodiments, alternatives to the accordion interlocking areimplemented. In still other embodiments, only the interlocking portionsare shaped like an accordion.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a trash bag accessory 310 forhanging to a trash bin 320, according to an embodiment. The accessory310 is adapted to hang on the upper rim of the trash bin 320 forsupport. Additional embodiments are shown in FIG. 4. Accessory 410provides four suckers as an alternative mechanism for attachment to atrash bin. Accessory 420 comprises an exterior roll dispenser thatallows bag to be peeled off similar to toilet paper on a toilet paperroll. Finally, accessory 430 is attached to the trash bin with a cordwhile accessory 440 is hangs similar to accessory 310, but in a verticalmanner. Many other variations are possible.

A roll of bags are loaded into a cavity and partially advanced to allowa new bag to be dispensed. A user unrolls the new bag and breaks offfrom the roll for installation. Advantageously, a user does not need tofind a roll of bags each time, nor travel away the trash bin 320 inorder to retrieve the roll of bags.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a trash bag dispenser 510integrated within a bottom of a trash bin, according to one embodiment.Rather than mounting to a top rim of the trash bin, dispenser 510 mountsto a bottom surface. In one embodiment, the dispenser 510 is integratedinto the trash bin with built-in supports, locks and releases. Inanother embodiment, the dispenser 510 is an after-market product that ismanufactured in standard sizes or is capable of being adjusted todifferent sizes. A roll of trash bags can be loaded from the top, or inan integrated version, be loaded from a side of the bottom by removing acap.

A new bag is pulled up from the bottom and wrapped around a rim of thetrash bin for use. Once full, removal of the old bag can automaticallypull up a new bag and be detached upon reaching the rim.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a trash bag with separatebins 610, 620, according to one embodiment. In the present embodiment,there are two bins side-by-side of uniform size in a lengthwisedirection. Other embodiments can have three or more bins. Still otherembodiments can have varying bin sizes.

In one embodiment, the bins can be separately detached and carried away.Both bins may have to be detached before a new pair can be fed throughor the two bins can be independently fed. For the consumer, differentbins can have different uses, such as one bin for compost and one binfor recycling, and the bags can be separately carried to a street trashcan.

New bags can be dispensed as described herein, for example, bottom fedor top fed.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic diagram illustrating trash bag dispensersfrom an interior vertical orientation on a wall of a can, according toone embodiment. The can has railings to which a book of bags isconnected. An individual plastic bag can be pulled out from the book ofbags and hooked under a lip of the can. The bag breaks apart when liftedout of the can for dispensing.

II. Generalities of the Improved Trash Bags, Bins and Accessories

Improved trash bags, bins, and accessories are described herein. Theterm trash bag used herein can also refer to a bin bag, bin liner, orgarbage bag. Trash bags are used to collect disposables which can becompost, recyclables, of the like. Many different materials can be usedfor manufacture, such as plastic, rubber, paper, or other syntheticmaterials, or other environmental friendly materials. Trash bins andbags can be of any color, such as black or white, and have additionalfeatures such as handles, drawstrings or aesthetic designs.

The embodiments discussed herein are applicable to residential uses of,for example, 5 or 10 gallon sizes, or even smaller containers. Theembodiments are also applicable to commercial or industrial uses, forexample, 55 gallons or larger. The trash bins used for the new trashbags and accessories described can be small plastic ones, or large metalbarrels.

As will be understood by those familiar with the art, the subject matterdescribed herein may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.Likewise, the particular naming and division of the portions, modules,agents, managers, components, functions, procedures, actions, layers,features, attributes, methodologies, data structures and other aspectsare not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that implement thesubject matter or its features may have different names, divisionsand/or formats. The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation,has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive orlimiting to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodimentswere chosen and described in order to best explain relevant principlesand their practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled inthe art to best utilize various embodiments with or without variousmodifications as may be suited to the particular use contemplated.

I claim:
 1. A suitcase for carrying clothes and shoes, the suitcasecomprising: an outer shell to enclose contents being carried in thesuitcase; a plurality of wheels movingly connected to the outer shell; ahandlebar railing attached to the outer shell on one end and having ahandlebar on the other end, for a user to control movement of thesuitcase using the plurality of wheels; a frame within the outer shell,having at least a first compartment for carrying a first content, and asecond compartment for carrying shoes, wherein the second compartmentincludes four or more individual compartments for four or more pairs ofshoes, accordingly, and wherein the second compartment slides up thehandlebar railing, when the suitcase is stationary, to a supportedposition at a higher elevation than when the suitcase is mobile.